What Is Hypermiling And How Can It Save You Fuel In Pakistan

Fuel prices have been low for a few months now, but that was not the case last year. Even now, prices are on a rise. People try all sorts of things to make sure they get the best out of their cars. And one of those ways to improve the fuel efficiency is changing the way you drive. The car will return the best mileage if you are gentle with the throttle and careful with the gears. And one of those fuel saving driving practices is called hypermiling.

Hypermiling is a practice of driving your vehicle economically and exceeding what vehicle’s manufacturer has stated as the efficiency by modifying driving habits and techniques. This practice is not something new. People have been doing it for decades to get better fuel efficiency. Expert hypermilers claim the practice has helped them reduce fuel usage and travelling costs by up to 40%. Considering how bad traffic situation is in almost every city of Pakistan, hypermiling can help you save a whole lot of money at the end of the month.

So you have decided to try hypermiling. This is how you can go about doing that.

First, start by tracking the average of your car. It’s best to have a proper record of the fuel usage, and kilometres travelled. There are mobile apps available as well that can help you maintain the record. Maintaining an appropriate record will help you see the effects of hypermiling in a quantifiable manner.

Secondly, make sure your car is well maintained. Change oils on time and have its tuning done on regular basis. When I say well maintained, it includes having properly inflated tyres and clean boot as well. Correctly inflated tyres mean you have not only good stopping power but you also have less drag when taking off or travelling at cruising speeds. And also, clean your car immediately. Remove all the junk you have ignored in the car for past months. Some extreme hypermilers also remove the spare tyre and car jack, but I would not advise that unless you have run flats. Also, if you have something that can cause a drag, like a roof rack, remove those things as well (provided you don’t need them on a daily basis).

Tuning also includes cleaner throttle body or carburettor and good quality spark plugs.

Then there are small things that matter. For example, try to use the lowest possible viscosity oil. Thicker oil means engine components need more to pump the oil and move through them. Whether it’s engine oil or transmission oil, both lubricate their respective components. And thinner oils will take less to go through the parts.

All of the things mentioned above are about related to your vehicles. Let’s talk a little about your driving practice and road behaviour.

Don’t drive

The first thing you can do to save the fuel is, not drive at all. All you will do is save fuel. Walk to the stores and shops close to your home instead of taking your car. When going to shopping, park your car at one place, and then walk to different shops in the vicinity instead of moving your vehicle again and again.

Defensive driving

Be defensive on the road. Anticipate behaviour of other motorists. If you see traffic piling up in the distance or a red traffic light, put the car in neutral and let it roll until you stop. Also, your car will use less fuel if you continue driving a rolling car instead of completely stopping it and starting in first gear. Some people turn off the engine, but I think that is very dangerous. You must never do that. Your engine keeps important accessories like brake booster, power steering, and electronics on all the time.

Less braking

Try to brake as less as possible. That doesn’t mean you drive like a manic and then don’t apply brakes. As mentioned above, try to anticipate the traffic ahead. Only speed up enough so you can come to a rolling stop if needed instead of applying brakes. Think it like this; you needed the brakes to stop the car because you were going faster than what was necessary. So you wasted fuel by speeding up unnecessarily.

Shutting down engine or coasting

And at the end, there is a practice of coasting. This is where you turn the engine off when you are just rolling down a road. Off engine in a rolling car means not fuel burning while covering the distance. As I said above, that can be very dangerous in some situations. So be extremely careful with this. I have known people turning their engines off while descending hilly roads. That is just plain stupid. You must never do that. But, you should shut down the engine on traffic signals. No point in keeping it running when you are not moving.

These are just a few of hypermiling tips that can help you get better mileage. Expert hypermilers do a lot more than just these; from driving barefoot (because you feel the race paddle closely), to closing the windows without A/C and even turning their mobile phones off so you don’t lose concentration. There a lot of things that come together to give you mouthwatering fuel average but let’s be honest, it is not possible to do all that at once. But for now, we hope you have learnt something new today. Happy motoring!

My limited hypermiling in a 2007 1.5 prius has lead me to achieve from an initial 18 to now up to 25 kmpl in a medium traffic situation on GT road.

Daredevil

Please share your techniques.

Saad Ullah Butt

specifically for the prius? your hybrid battery should be in excellent condition.
Apart from the usual and timely maintenance of car:
1. Anticipate breaking. coast to the signal, sir per ja k break nhi maarni signal k.
2. Find the efficient speed ranges for your car. My prius gives good milage on 56kmph, 64, 84 and then around 98 kmph. So if traffic conditions allow me to go upto 90 on clear road, I back down to 84. If the traffic is low on GT road and I can hit the speed limit, I don’t. 98 is as good as 100.
3. The most important technique: Patience as a driver.

Sultan Kiani

No doubt a Prius can achieve 25 kmpl + millage if you don’t drive it crazy!

Sultan Kiani

I have a Daihatsu Charade, engine and other parts are not in good shape BUT I do the following and still get 14-17 kmpl while driving on (sub)urban roads:

1. I purchased an air pressure gauge worth only 350 Rupees, I check my tyres’ pressure after every 3 days

2. Drive at LOW RPM and never press the gas pedal too hard. Sometimes I have to press it hard ONLY when going uphill in traffic jams and sometime overtaking a tractor trailer or any vehicle moving at 30 km/h

3. Coasting is the best. Many people say it’s not good but it’s not Mercedes so I don’t care. Whenever I see traffic slowing down I put the gear in neutral and gently press the brakes. One good thing is your brake lasts longer if you do this. I also do it when approaching a speed beaker or sharp turn.

4. Turning off the engine when traffic is not moving and I’m sure it won’t move in next 200 seconds!

I have achieved 23 km/ltr on my IDSI honda city, On GT road , without ac and following the same rules. It really works

Raja Waqas Mazhar

I had a Honda city 2015 and I used to take 22 km/ltr on Gt road out of it by using following techniques.

1) Always change engine oil in time.
2) on every 2nd oil change , do change oil filter. And clean your Air filter.
3) After every 8000 kms change Air filter.
4) During driving follow the car a head of using keeping 3 seconds distance . if you see car a head of you is applying brakes slow down your car leave the race pedal. This will allow you not to apply breakers and you will not need to change gears. Try to watch from rear mirror of car a head of you. You would be ready for any stop without using brakes and changing gears.
5) try to drive on 110 km/hr speed.
6) once you reach 110 on a highway just support the race padle by just putting your feet on it not pressing it hard.
7) don’t press race pedal full. Gently accelerate.
8) keep your tyre pressure as of car manual. In Pakistan we keep 28 in front tire and 30 in back. But as per Honda 32 in front and 30 in back. I always used to keep that air pressure.
9) keep your hood clean. And make sure you service your car once a week atleast.
10) avoid using diesel beneath your car while you service your car.
11) keep AC thermostat on second last bar not at full. Don’t open fan on full as well try to use at second bar.

Don’t coast in neutral. Modern efi cars shut off the fuel injectors when the throttle is fully closed, (which means when you lift your foot off the accelerator). Coasting in neutral means the injectors keep spraying some fuel to keep the engine running in idle.